Work vehicles, such as construction vehicles (e.g., bulldozers, loaders, backhoe loaders, excavators, etc.), agricultural vehicles (e.g., harvesters, combines, tractors, etc.) and forestry vehicles (e.g., feller-bunchers, tree chippers, knuckleboom loaders, etc.), are often equipped with endless tracks which enhance their traction and reduce pressure they apply on soft, low friction and/or uneven grounds (e.g., soil, mud, sand, ice, snow, etc.) on which they operate.
One type of endless track comprises a body of elastomeric material (e.g., rubber) in which are embedded rigid cores (e.g., metallic cores) that extend transversally to impart transverse rigidity to the track and that guide wheels of the work vehicle that rotate in an inner area of the track.
In this type of endless track, the wheels of the work vehicle typically induce wearing of the track's elastomeric material. For example, roller wheels of the work vehicle that roll on the track's inner side normally tend to cause rapid wearing of the elastomeric material in a zone where they roll. Such wear of the elastomeric material often results in fissures between the elastomeric material and the cores, particularly at locations where the roller wheels engage the cores and the elastomeric material. As they continue to roll on the track's inner side, the roller wheels tend to push rocks, sand, water and/or other undesirable matter between the cores and the elastomeric material through the fissures, which become increasingly larger. Over time, this contributes to a progressive loss of adhesion between the cores and the elastomeric material which can lead to the cores being poorly retained in or even removed from the track.
For these and other reasons, there is a need to improve wear resistance of endless tracks having embedded cores.